Part VII

It appeared to be hell on Earth. An entire army of the dead awaited their eyes, as the same pungent scent of loathing and decay was apparent in the air. The force field glowed with a faint amber light, that light reflected off of their glassy eyes to make them look even more demonic.

Isai bowed to Princess Kakyuu as he swept his cape in front of him. "At your service madam." He mocked.

It immediately clicked in the Starlight's heads who this infamous man was. Almost without a moment's hesitation they were in front of Kakyuu guarding her from whatever he may have planned.

"I'm afraid that insolence will get you no where my dears." He gestured to the Starlights. "If I wanted you, I would have taken you when you were down below in the catacombs when I had my chance."

"You're going to be sorry that you didn't!" Healer hissed as she held her position. Her teeth gritted together and her fists were tightly clenched.

"I have no grudge against you." He began as he stepped through the force field unharmed. The Starlights tensed up even more than they had been. "Surrender to me Kakyuu and I will let your precious Starlights live." He held his hand out as an offer.

"She will never surrender to you. We won't let her!" Fighter made a lunge for the man. She made no contact as he sidestepped her attack.

"I should be thanking you for not warning Princess Serenity and the guardians of the Silver Millennium. It was easy to go to Earth and steal their souls while they slept." He seemed as though he was going to start laughing. The same cocky smile crept up to his lips. "You see, you have no chance to defeat me, not even your pathetic force fields can keep me out. Surrender Kakyuu or I will take you by force!"

"Never." Kakyuu said in a robust voice so that the remainder of her people could hear her clearly and know that she would never give up on them.

'The Earth senshi, they were the guardians of the Silver Millennium?' They were apart of this war and they had not called upon them. Fighter battled the confusion in her head while keeping her eyes locked on Isai. 'He was collecting the souls of the people who had come up against him previously, is that why he didn't want us, the Starlights?' The Starlights were not involved in the first battle, they weren't even created until after the war was over.

"Enough!" Isai's expression turned sour as he grew impatient. "I will have your soul Kakyuu and I will watch it writhe and suffer just as mine did. You will pay yours and your mother's debt with your life!" Isai drew his sword and charged towards Kakyuu.

Fighter now stood behind him and knew that if she used her laser it would hit Healer and Maker too. There was nothing that she could do from the position that she was in. "NOOO!!!" She screamed as she could only look on in terror.

Healer was the first to come up against Isai as Maker jumped ungracefully on top of Kakyuu knocking her to the ground and out of the way of Isai's blade. His blade however did not miss.

The sword was drawn back stained with deep red blood. Healer's form fell to the ground as her hands came up to try to stop the blood from flowing out of her chest. Isai licked the blade of the sword and tasted her pure blood.

Maker was knocked unconscious and Kakyuu watched in horror as Healer slowly closed her eyes for the last time letting her arms fall to the ground with the rest of her body as her soul left this life.

Isai was now standing above the crumpled Maker and Kakyuu and towered over them. His voice boomed down upon them as he spoke. "Did you want me to kill her?" He pointed his sword at Healer's fallen form. Isai sheathed his sword once again as he focused his two hands in front of him, concentrating his energy.

None of his army had broken through the force field and Fighter suspected that they couldn't. They watched on with a heightened sense of eagerness and awareness. Isai began to draw his hands as though he was pulling the air in front of him towards his chest. He said nothing as he did this but instead closed his eyes.

Kakyuu screamed in pain as she arched her back in Maker's arms. A glowing aura was visible in her chest. Kakyuu's screams became louder and more blood curdling. Fighter couldn't just sit and watch him take another important person away from her. She had to do something. Fighter made her way to her feet once again as she charged with full force towards the scene in front of her eyes.

Isai made no movement to try and get away from the coming attack for soon he wouldn't have to move for anyone. Kakyuu's soul slipped away from her body and hung in the air above it. Isai kept drawing his hands towards him as if beckoning her soul to him. The illuminated apparatus moved gracefully and quietly to his waiting arms.

There was no time left, Fighter had failed once again to keep the ones that she loves safe. Her full charge at Isai ended with her falling to her knees as he backhanded her across the face. "There is nothing you can do. Give it up or die trying." Isai said as he put his boot on her cheek.

Fighter's face was being rubbed into the dirt on the ground but she still found the audacity to speak against him. "I will not give in to you or anyone else..." She struggled against his hold. "I will succeed and I will overcome as I watch you burn in hell!"

Isai smiled with delight. "A true tongue of the devil. Hell you say? Look around you, where do you think you are?" He bent down and picked up her entire weight by her neck. He held her at bay from his body and gave her a good look at what surrounded her. "Do you see this? What do you call this?" He laughed to himself. "I will let you live, I will watch you suffer as you struggle to maintain your futile existence." With one swift swing of his arm he tossed Fighter's body on top of Maker, who was just coming to, as if she was a rag doll.

Fighter smiled as blood trickled down her cracked lip. "You'll regret that." She said in a low mutter.

"Now, feel the pain that they made me feel when they took away my daughters. Feel the pain that you feel when you are left alone in this world. Feel the pain of knowing that you can not bring them back, that you can not do anything about it and only take comfort in the fact that one day you will end up just like them." Isai turned and walked back through the glowing force field and lead his army to the catacombs below.





Although Fighter had kept up the image of being the fierce senshi that she was inside she couldn't help but feel the pain and sorrow as her deeds were partially responsible for their predicament now. "Do you have everything?" She asked as she finished her thoughts.

Maker looked at her with a certain respect as she nodded to her leader. She knew the pain Fighter was feeling inside because she too felt that sting at her heart. Kakyuu, Healer and Fighter were the most important people in the world to her and now two of them were gone. She couldn't fathom though the impact that Usagi's death had on Fighter's mental state.

"Good let's go!" Fighter jumped down off of the balcony. There was no need to hide their senshi abilities now that half the city was dead and if they didn't stop this the entire planet would end up in much the same way. Maker took her lead and followed her down to the fate that awaited them.

Their destination was soon in sight. Somehow the entrance to the catacombs looked larger than it had the previous times that she had come here. "Do you think we can do this?" Fighter asked while looking straight into the tunnel ahead.

Maker looked at her in disbelief. "Don't start doubting yourself now. We have to be strong and believe." Maker started walking and hoped that Fighter would be right behind her.

'Believe in what?' Fighter thought to herself as she willed her legs to move to follow Maker. 'What else is there left to believe in? Can Maker and I truly do this on our own?'

The whistling of the caves picked up just as it had previously. This didn't stop the two Starlights as they pushed on. The eerie chill that was in the air sent goose bumps up their arms, they could feel something around them. "Something's here." Maker said to Fighter in a whisper in case she didn't feel it.

Fighter nodded her head. She felt it and she could feel it trying to invade her body. What was this force? The whistling grew more intense as they saw a light up ahead.

By now they were deeply in the tombs that rested below the city. The faint sound of voices could be heard echoing all around them. They didn't dare bring in outside lights, they would have drawn attention to themselves and given away their position. They were lucky however that the halls were dimly lit with torches on the wall. The dim light created just enough shadow to keep them hidden.

"I know you're there Starlights." A voice bellowed down the hallway. The Starlights immediately recognized it as Isai's. They could not see him and the way he said it so calmly they knew that he could see them.

Fighter looked at Maker and she returned the glance. Neither of them knew what to do and it was the first time that Maker was utterly clueless to the solution of their dilemma. Maker was about to speak when the whistling grew louder and cut her off.

Before the two Starlights knew it they were being overcome with the same strong force that they had felt before. This time it was stronger, and this time it was forcing them further into the catacombs.

Fighter couldn't hold on any more, the force was just too much as her body was sent hurling down the long hall. Maker watched on in horror as her partner and only ally left was submerged into the darkness and distanced from her. Maker felt her own body weakening but before she fell to the same fate as Fighter she felt a hand around her neck.

"I thought you would need a hand." Isai looked straight into Maker's eyes as she struggled to get herself free. "Now meet your fate!" Isai tightened his grip on Maker's throat as he cut off her air.

Maker's eyes traced over the features of Isai's face and didn't see a hint of compassion. She knew this was the end and she felt so helpless, she was leaving Fighter, if she was still alive, to fight the battle of an entire world on her own. She had her doubts to whether or not she could handle it.

As Maker's soul appeared outside of her form the whistling and the wind stopped. Isai quickly grabbed her soul but did not drop her. "I'm going to get your little partner and show her your fate my dear." He said in a low seductive voice as he began to walk back to his chambers dragging Maker's limp body in his arms.